Charles edward harris



(No Model.) C. E. HARRIS. PORTABLE FENCE.

No. 459,287. Patented Sept. 8, 1891.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EDIVARD HARRIS, OF VINNIPEG, CANADA.

PORTABLE FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,287', dated September 8, 1891.

Application led February 24, 1891. Serial No. 382,442. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES EDWARD HARRIS, of Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitoba and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new useful Improvement in Portable Fences, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in portable fences, especially to the construction of the posts from which the sections of the fence are supported; and the object of the invention is to provide a staunch, durable, and economic fence capable of being expeditiously and conveniently erected upon either even or upon uneven ground, and also to provide a means wh erebyone section may be disengaged from another in a convenient and ready Inanner.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partof this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the fence. Fig. 2 is a section taken practically on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a main post, illustrating the corner-posts of fence-sections connected therewith; and Fig. f1 is a plan view of `two main posts and a complete section connecting the same.

The corner-post consists of a bed-beam 10, adapted to rest upon the ground, a block or plate 11, attached to the beam, and a bodysection 12, secured to the plate or block 11 and the bed-beam. The bed-beam 10 is beveled downwardly at each end in the direction of its center, and is provided near said beveled ends with inclined apertures 13. The bevel is imparted tothe ends of the beam in order that it may not collect dirt to any great extent when being drawn over the ground,

and the removal of the beam is preferably effected through the medium of a hook 14, one end of which is inserted in one of the diagonal apertures 13. The block or plate 11 is located upon the upper face of the bedbeam at or near the center thereof and extends horizontally beyond each side of the beam. Near each end of the block or plate a triangularly arranged. The top of the post is covered by a metal plate 18, having apertures therein corresponding in number and location to the recesses 17, and upon the plate an angular cap 19 is mounted to swing horizontally, said plate having a lower horizontal member through which passes a screw, a vertical member, and au upper horizontal member which projects over the apertured portion of the plate 18. The body-section of the post and the beam-section are connected by braces 20, one brace being located at each side and extending downward in opposite directions.

The fence-sections A may be constructed in any suitable or approved manner, and usually consist of a top rail 21, a bottom rail 22,-v 1' 'y and end rails or posts 23, connecting the up per and lower rails. The end rails or posts 23 of each section have recesses 24 made in their upper ends, and the lower ends of said rails or posts 23 are provided with integral or attached tongues adapted to enter one of the slots 15 in the block or plate 11.

In erecting a straight line of fence if the ground be even the end rails or posts of the sections A are placed in the slots 15 nearest the body 12 of the main post, as shown in Fig. 1, and the upper ends of the end rails of the fence-sections are connected with the main posts by staples 25', one member of a staple being introduced in the recess 24 of the corner-post of the fence-section and the other member in one of the apertures 17 in the main post. 'Before the staples are placed in position the cap is swung or turned to one side, and when the staples have been forced downward in place the cap is carried over them, thereby preventing their withdrawal. If the ground is slanting or uneven, the end posts of the sections A may be placed in either one of the slots 15 farthest away from the body of the main post.

In Fig. 3 lhave illustrated the main line of fence B as intersected by a'line C, located at a right angle thereto. When this is the case, the corner-post of the section thus intersecting the main line of fence is secured at its lower end in the most convenient aperture 16 in the bed plate or block, and the upper end of the corner-post of the section is connected with the main post by means of a staple 25, in the manner heretofore described.

It will be observed that by removing the staples from one section and from the main corner-post with which the section is connected the section thus detached may be c arried inward and access be readily gained to the inclosure. It is also evident that the position of the fence may be readily changed and that it maybe expeditiously and conveniently taken down and set up again.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new land desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a portable fence, the horizontal beam lO and the plate 1l, rigidly secured on th-e upper side of said beam and provided with rows of slots l5 at opposite sides of its center to receive the lower ends of vertical panelposts and apertures 16 between said rows of apertures to receive the lower end of the main post, substantially as set forth.

2. In a fence, the vertical main postl2, having apertures in its upper end, a staple the legs of which enter said apertures, and a horizontal swinging cap to swing over the cross-bar of said staple, substantially as set forth.

3. A main post for portable fences, consisting of a bed-beam, a plate or block attached transversely to thebed-beam and having slots produced near its ends and apertures between the series of slots, and a body-section,

. a post proper having` apertures or recesses at a bed-beam having inwardly-beveled ends, diagonal apertures near said ends, a plate or block transversely secured to the beam and provided with slots near opposite ends, abodysection secured to the block or plate and-bedbeam, the said body-section being provided at its upper end with a series of recesses, a plate covering the said end having apertures produced therein registering with the recesses, and an angular movable cap secured upon the plate and covering said apertures, as and for the purpose set forth.

, `5. In a portable fence, the combination, with a post the body portion whereof has attached to its lower end a plate or block provided with a series of slots and the upper end of the post-body being provided with a series of recesses, of a fence section or panel the end post or rail whereof is provided with a tongue adapted to enter one of the slots in the plate or block and with a recess in its upper end, and a staple one member of which is made to enter the recess in the post and the other member the recess in the end rail or post of the panel, as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a portable fence, the combination, with a post consisting of a bed-beam, a plate secured to 'the bed-beam having slots near its ends and apertures between the series of slots, and a body-section attached to the plate provided with recesses in its upper end, the plate attached to said end having apertures registering with the recesses, and a movable cap covering the apertures in the plate, of a fence section or panel the inner post or rail whereof is adapted to enter one of the slots in the plate or block and provided at its upper end with a recess, and a staple one member of which is entered into the recess of the panel-post and the other member ina recess of the main post, as and for the purpose specified.

CHARLES EDVARD HARRIS. 

